396 
SPICES 
CHAP. 
that it was deficient in organic matter, lime, phosphoric 
acid, and sodium. Various market fertilisers produced 
no favourable results. Stable manure and bat guano, 
from the island caves, were also a failure. The use of 
a marl, when mixed with stable manure, was a partial 
success. The Society experimented on a limited area 
of worn-out ground, upon which a check experiment 
gave no return, and obtained by a suitable compost a 
crop equivalent to 2,500 lbs. per acre, and of a product 
of extraordinary size and quality. The fertiliser which 
produced such results was a mixture of marl with a 
compost of about 10 per cent of soluble phosphates, 
ammonia, and potash salts. 
Preparation of the Soil . — The mode of preparing 
the soil depends to a considerable extent upon the 
actual conditions of the climate, and the planter must 
use his judgment as to the most suitable method. 
In any case the soil must be broken up fine, either 
with hoe or plough, and if possible harrowed afterwards. 
In Bengal, according to the Keport of the Director 
of the Agricultural Department for 1886, the ground is 
ploughed in March or April, after every fall of rain, and 
altogether receives twelve or thirteen ploughings. It 
is then levelled, and water-channels are made in order 
to irrigate the ground. The water-channels are made 
from 60 to 80 ft. apart, and connected by smaller 
ones running at right angles to the main channels, 
about 8 ft. apart. 
Planting . — Ginger is always grown from cuttings 
of the rhizome. Seeds of the plant seem absolutely 
unknown. The joints of the rhizome each contain an 
“ eye,'’ that is to say a bud, and from these buds the 
plant grows. Often the portions of the rhizomes cut 
off in peeling the ginger are used as stock. Frequently, 
however, a proportion of the crop is retained for planting 
stock. The cuttings should be from 1 to 2 in. long. 
Planting in India and the West Indies generally 
takes place in March and April, but sometimes later, 
till June. This really depends on the time of occurrence 
